It was one year ago this evening that Nevada County had a bunch of visitors–none of whom who had planned to come here when the day started. It was feared that the Oroville Dam spillway would fail, and people at lower elevations were told to get out. Just three days earlier, in one of the wettest winters on record, Lake Oroville was full…

At the time, Doug Carlson of the Department of Water Resources said there was no danger. But late Sunday afternoon February 12, came word that the emergency spillway would likely fail. Two hundred thousand people from Oroville, to Marysville and Yuba City, and farther downstream toward Sacramento were told to leave. Many came to Grass Valley…

That Gold Miners Inn General Manager Sean Gillaran. All the hotels filled up fast, and about a thousand more chose to stay at a shelter set up at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. Fairgrounds C-E-O Rea Callender the next morning…